The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is proud to announce the distinguished honorees for its 2024 WOLA Human Rights Awards. These individuals and organizations have demonstrated exceptional dedication to human rights in the Americas.
The awards will be presented at WOLA’s 50th Anniversary Human Rights Awards and Benefit Gala on May 9th in Washington D.C. The occasion will commemorate WOLA’s five decades of innovative advocacy for human rights and democracy across the Americas.
“WOLA’s 50th anniversary is an important landmark, a chance to celebrate and to renew our struggle and commitment for human rights,” said WOLA’s president, Carolina Jiménez Sandoval. “These honorees – leaders who have stood strong in their fight for dignity and justice in Latin America – represent values that guided us over the years and inspire us for the future.”
Senator Patrick Leahy will be honored for his life-long commitment to human rights and democracy in the Americas, and his Congressional leadership in advancing these principles in U.S. foreign policy. Throughout his illustrious career, Senator Leahy has been a steadfast advocate for ensuring the protection of human rights in U.S. engagement with Latin America and globally. His significant contributions include the Leahy Laws, which have prohibited military assistance to foreign security force units violating human rights since the 1990s.
Venezuela Program Education-Action on Human Rights (PROVEA), will be honored for their courage in investigating human rights violations, their support for victims, and their promotion of respect for the rule of law and democracy in Venezuela. Despite ongoing challenges and attacks, PROVEA has served as a beacon of hope for the people of Venezuela since its founding in 1988. PROVEA advocates for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR), striving to build a democratic society rooted in pluralism, solidarity, and participation.
The collectives of family members of the disappeared in Guanajuato, Mexico will be honored for their essential role in the search for truth, justice, reparations, and non-repetition in the face of a disappearance crisis numbering over 114,000 victims nationally. In particular, WOLA will recognize Olimpia Montoya of the search collective Proyecto de Búsqueda for her role in advancing efforts to create the National Forensic Data Bank and Bibiana Mendoza of the Hasta Encontrarte collective for her unwavering voice against militarization in Mexico. They and the broader community of search collectives in Guanajuato and Mexico, led especially by women, actively search for their loved ones in a context of high risk. They represent a light of hope for families across the Americas who search for their disappeared relatives.
Since 2006, WOLA’s annual Human Rights Award has recognized organizations or individuals who exemplify a commitment to WOLA’s vision of the future, where human rights and social justice are the foundation for public policy. Previous honorees include Rep. Joaquin Castro, the Ethnic Working Group of Colombia’s Truth Commission, Fundación Mi Sangre, the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center, Efecto Cocuyo, Rep. Norma Torres, Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, Salvadoran digital news outlet El Faro, Rep. Veronica Escobar, Commissioner Iván Velásquez Gómez of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), and Rep. Jim McGovern.
Learn more about WOLA’s 50th Anniversary Human Rights Awards Ceremony and Benefit Gala here!
